Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" does a marvelous job of highlighting the violent nature of humanity. The underlying cause of this violent nature can be analyzed from three angles, first being where the violence occurs, secondly man's need to be led and how his leader leads him, and finally the question of whether violence is truly an innate and inherent phenomenon. characteristic in humans. Cormac McCarthy once said: “I think the idea that the species can somehow be improved, that everyone can live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. » (Overview) This quote leaves us with the impression that humanity as a whole is naturally violent, and we will explore this idea as we examine "Blood Meridian." This article consists of three main topics, all of which have subtopics. The first topic explores the Western context of “Blood Meridian” and its effects on human behavior. Its subthemes are the absence of responsibility, the failure of manifest ideals of destiny, and the view of the West as an escape from the past and time. The second topic delves deeper into the nature of Cormac McCarthy's quote; he asks whether humans are inherently violent. The subthemes of this section are racism and hatred as a drive, greed as a drive, and the metaphorical meaning of two events in the book. The last topic concerns man's need to be led and how his leader leads him. The subthemes of the final section are the parallel between Hitler and Judge Holden, as well as the judge's general philosophy, including how he leads men. Cormac McCarthy was wise to choose the Southwest as the setting for a novel of unprecedented bloodshed. No other country would have done justice to McCarthy's ideas, given that only the Southwest was home to such gratuitous violence. A ...... middle of paper ....... Literary Resource Center. Internet. May 8, 2014. Schopen, Bernard A. ““They went up”: the blood meridian and the art of storytelling. » West American Literature 30.2 (Summer 1995): 179-194. Rep. in Contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Flight. 204. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Information Resource Center. Internet. May 8, 2014. Benson, Josef. "An ironic statement: the kid's heroic failure to rebel against the judge's hypermasculinity in Blood Meridian." Southwestern American Literature 36.3 (2011): 70+. Literary Resource Center. Internet. May 8, 2014. Kiefer, Christian. “Indiscreet Behavior: Blood Meridian, Lonesome Dove, and the Problem of Reader Sympathy.” Southwestern American Literature 33.1 (2007): 39+. Literary Resource Center. Internet. May 8, 2014. “Charles, Jr. McCarthy Overview.” » Discovering the authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Internet. May 8 2014.